Jan. 9, 2003
Cullowhee, N.C. - The Western Carolina Athletics Department announced today that Yoneko Allen (women's basketball) and Kori Hatcher (men's basketball) have been named the Arby's/Catamount Student-Athletes of the Month for December.
Allen, a Gray Court, S.C., native, has been an excellent leader for the Lady Catamounts on and off the court. She recently posted a perfect 4.0 for the Fall 2002 semester and now holds a cumulative GPA of 3.980 as a triple major in Sport Management, Business Administration and Law and Marketing.
On the court, the junior has been a vocal leader for the Cats and has served as a team captain this year. In December, Allen posted 77 points to average 12.8 per contest in a six-game stretch that started at UNC Asheville on Dec. 2. She scored nine points against the Bulldogs, including sinking a perfect 4-of-4 from the free throw line, to lead the Cats to a 71-55 victory after returning from the St. Mary's tournament in California the day before. In the second game, against Radford, Allen tied a career-high 17 points, but then posted a new career-high two games later against Wake Forest with 18 points. In the next match, WCU hosted Campbell, and it was again Allen's turn to shine as she led the team in scoring for the third game in December, this time with 17 points, including five treys, which tied a career-high. For the month, she shot 40 percent from 3-point range and moved up in the WCU record books. With 17 made 3-pointers for the month, she brought her career total to 72, which places her in sixth on the school's all-time list.
Hatcher, a senior guard, scored a career-high 21 points in leading the Catamounts to a 96-81 victory over North Greenville this past December, securing the program's 1,000th all-time win. The Valdosta, Ga., native drained all four of his 3-point attempts, was 6-of-7 from the field overall and made 5-of-6 free throws. He added five rebounds, two assists and two steals with 17 of his 21 points coming in the second half. Hatcher put the Cats on track to start the second half, getting a steal and making a pair of free throws early. Then, he would make consecutive 3-pointers to tie the game at 47. Hatcher also showcased his shooting range at Tennessee, scoring 12 points on 4-of-7 3-pointers. The four treys tied a career high while his seven 3-point attempts established a career high.
Hatcher has 296 career assists and only needs 19 more assists to enter the WCU career top 10. He is second on the team in scoring (8.8 ppg), thanks to draining 16-of-42 3-pointers on the season, and leads the team with 42 assists.
The Catamount men's team (4-8, 1-0 SoCon) faces Davidson on the road on Saturday, while the women (9-3, 2-1 SoCon) square off against the College of Charleston on the road as well on the 11th. Both games are set to start at 3:00 pm.
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